Evidence for chimeric sequences formed during random arbitrarily primed PCR

Microscopic Methods for Identification of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria from Various Habitats

This paper is devoted to microscopic methods for the identification of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). In this context, it describes various habitats, morphology and techniques used for the detection and identification of this very heterogeneous group of anaerobic microorganisms. SRB are present in almost every habitat on Earth, including freshwater and marine water, soils, sediments or animals. In the oil, water and gas industries, they can cause considerable economic losses due to their hydrogen sulfide production; in periodontal lesions and the colon of humans, they can cause health complications. Although the role of these bacteria in inflammatory bowel diseases is not entirely known yet, their presence is increased in patients and produced hydrogen sulfide has a cytotoxic effect. For these reasons, methods for the detection of these microorganisms were described. Apart from selected molecular techniques, including metagenomics, fluorescence microscopy was one of the applied methods. Especially fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in various modifications was described. This method enables visual identification of SRB, determining their abundance and spatial distribution in environmental biofilms and gut samples.

Inter-specific interactions between carbon-limited soil bacteria affect behavior and gene expression

Recent publications indicate that inter-specific interactions between soil bacteria may strongly affect the behavior of the strains involved, e.g., by increased production of antibiotics or extracellular enzymes. This may point at an enhanced competitive ability due to inter-specific triggering of gene expression. However, it is not known if such inter-specific interactions also occur during competition for carbon which is the normal situation in soil. Here, we report on competitive interactions between two taxonomically non-related bacterial strains, Pseudomonas sp. A21 and Pedobacter sp. V48, that were isolated from a dune soil. The strains showed strong effects on each other's behavior and gene expression patterns when growing together under carbon-limited conditions on agar. The most pronounced observed visual changes in mixed cultures as compared to monocultures were (1) strong inhibition of a bioindicator fungus, suggesting the production of a broad-spectrum antibiotic, and (2) the occurrence of gliding-like movement of Pedobacter cells. Two independent techniques, namely random arbitrary primed-PCR (RAP-PCR) and suppressive subtractive hybridization (SSH), identified in total 24 genes that had higher expression in mixed cultures compared to monocultures. Microbial interactions were clearly bidirectional, as differentially expressed genes were detected for both bacteria in mixed cultures. Sequence analysis of the differentially expressed genes indicated that several of them were most related to genes involved in motility and chemotaxis, secondary metabolite production and two-component signal transduction systems. The gene expression patterns suggest an interference competition strategy by the Pseudomonas strain and an escape/explorative strategy by the Pedobacter strain during confrontation with each other. Our results show that the bacterial strains can distinguish between intra- and inter-specific carbon competition.

Differential expression of Desulfovibrio vulgaris genes in response to Cu(II) and Hg(II) toxicity

The response of Desulfovibrio vulgaris to Cu(II) and Hg(II) was characterized. Both metals increased the lag phase, and Cu(II) reduced cell yield at concentrations as low as 50 microM. mRNA expression was analyzed using random arbitrarily primed PCR, differential display, and quantitative PCR. Both Cu(II) and Hg(II) (50 micro M) caused upregulation of mRNA expression for an ATP binding protein (ORF2004) and an ATPase (ORF856) with four- to sixfold increases for Hg(II) and 1.4- to 3-fold increases with Cu(II). These results suggest that D. vulgaris uses an ATP-dependent mechanism for adapting to toxic metals in the environment.